Aerocycle



v'w. EvERsoN.

AERocYcLE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2l, 1920.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

Mja/072907Z W. EVERSUN` AEROCYCLE.

APPLICATION FILED 1uNE21, 1920.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

f V64 ktm/navo' ,W. EVERSON.

AEROCYCLE.

APPLICATION FILED IUNE 21. I92o.

- Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Y aww/whoa UNITED STATES WILLIAM EVERSON, 0F ALMA, NEBRASKA.

AEROGYCLE.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Application filed .Tune 21, 1920. Serial No. 390,527.

17 '0 all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM EvnRsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alma, in the county of Harlan and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aerocycles; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved aerocycle for use in connection with an aeroplane and one object of the invention is to provide an aerocyele so constructed that it may beV very easily associated with a monoplane orbiplane of a conventional construction, thus permitting it to 'be used in connection with aeroplanes of a construction already in use and making it unnecessary to provide a special construction of plane in order to permit this aerocycle to be used in connection with the same.

Another object of the invention is to so construct this aeroeycle that it may be built upon the principle of a gyroscope and used for liftingthe aeroplane vertically, for moving the plane ahead or for retarding the plane and permitting the plane to hover in the air or settle and thus make a squash or vertical landing. Tt will thus be seen that with this improved device, the plane may move vertically from the ground to a desired height and then be propelled forwardly and after the flight is finished, the plane may be brought to a stop while in the air and then caused to descend in a vertical plane and alight vupon the ground, the roof of a building or deck of a ship.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the device that the plane may be driven at varying speeds.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Y Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of an aeroplane' of the biplane type having the improved aerocycle associated therewith, the view being partially in side elevation and partially in vertical section, alongthe line 1.-1 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lineQ-Q of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

This aerocycleis intended for use in connection with an' aeroplane of a conventional construction and has been shown applied .to a biplane of the Curtiss type.l It is to be understood, however, that the device can be applied to a monoplane if so desired. This aeroplane is provided with the usual body or fuselage 1 having the forward and rear cockpits 2 and 3 and having the motor t mounted in the forward or nose portion and the. aeroplane will be provided with the usual upper and lower wings 5 and 6 and landing gear 7. This device is provided with a frame having upper and lower longitudinally extending bars 8 and 9, cross bars l() and vertical bars 11, the bars being` connected by couplings 12 to provide a strong and rigid frame. formed of aluminum or of any other suitable material which will be light in weight but at the same time strong and durable. The frame extends upon opposite sides of the fuselage as shown in Fig. 2 and will carry the gyroscopes having the propellers associated therewith, the gyroscopes being positioned`upon opposite sides of the fuselage as shown and rotating in opposite directions thus equalizing the power developed so that the same power will be exerted upon both sides of the fuselage and the aeroplane thus lifted without.V creating force which might tend to twist the plane and strain the portions thereof.

Each of these gyroscopic propellers is provided with a ring 13 which. is positioned vertically in the gap between the wings and within the aerocycle frame and will be rotatably held in place by shoes 14, the shoes being carried by the intermediate vertical bars 15 and cross bars 16 which will .be wider and flatter than the remaining hars used in constructing the aerocycle frame. These shoes have concaved faces for engaging the rings 13 as shown in Fig.` 1 and will be provided with side iianges 14.- for engaging the side edge faces of the rings and prevent the rings from having transverse movement. A shaft 17 is positioned as shown in Fig. 2 and provided with ahand wheel 18 by means ofV which it may be ro tated and this shaft extends longitudinally of the aerocycle frame upon opposite sides of the fuselage and carries gears 19 which engage the teeth 20 of the rings 13 and will Vcause the rings to be rotated an equal amount when the shaft 17 is rotated.

-In order to lift and propel the aeroplane` This frame will be there has been provided iIl each of the rings Y tions of which are connected with the bracing bands 26. The blades of the propeller at one sidev of the fuselage will be inclined in an opposite direction to thel propeller upon the opposite side of the fuselage, and therefore, when the shafts 21 are rotated in opposite directions, the propellers will both be rotated to lift the machine from the ground. rlhey will, however, counterbalance each other and prevent the plane from having a tendency to turnin a circle. In order to rotate the two shafts 21, a gear-27 has been mounted upon the engine shaft and meshes 'with a gear 23 carried by al driving shaft'29. This driving shaft 29 extends longitudinally of the aerocycle frame and carries gears 30 which mesh with the gears 31 mounted upon the shafts 21. A shaft housing or casing 32 is provided about the shaft 29 and motor shaft and gear 2'? and is provided with end sections 33 which are rotatably connected withthe intermediate portion of the casing by oil tight bearings 34 and have their outer ends provided with gear housings 35. The gear housings 35 are positioned about the'shafts 1 and gears 3() and 31 and have their outer end portions rotatably connected with oil tight bearing plates 36 which form closures for the outer ends of these housings Theseheads 36 are engaged by the supporting and bracing bars 37 and 38l and will be securely held in the position shown. 1t will thus be seen that the outer sections 33 of the shaft housing 32 will be rotatably mounted between the bearings 34: and 36 thus permitting these outer sections to rotate with the rings 13 when these rings .are rotated by turning of the shaft 17.

`When the aeroplane is in use, the motor will be started in the usual manner and the pilot and observer or passenger will occupy the forward and rear coclrpits. The motor will be provided with suitable treadles 39 and e0, one being for use in controlling a suitable clutch for transmitting rotary movement to the shaft 29 and the second being used for controlling the speed. The clutch will be` move-d to transmitrotary movement to the shaft 29 ywith the shaft rotating at slow speed, andthe propellers of the gyroscopewill be rotated. 1f the `shafts 31 are positioned in a'verticalY positlon as shown inFig. 1, the draft or propeller wash will pass downwardly and will pass through the openings 41 formed in the lower plane. When the speed of rotation is increased to the necessary amount, the aeroplane will be lifted off of the ground and after `vhas arisen to the desiredheight,

the shaft 17 can be rotated by means of the hand wheel 13 and the rings 13 of the gyroscopes rotated to extend the shafts 21 in a horizontal position. The aeroplane will then be propelled forwardly and if it is desired to climb rapidly, the rings can be rotated to extend the shafts 21 forwardly and upwardly. When it is desired to retard movement of the plane and make a landing, the rings of the gyroscopes will be rotated to extend the shafts 21 rearwardly and upwardly and the propellers will then form a check which will halt the forward movement of the plane. The propellers can then be returned to the vertical position and rotated at a reduced speed, so that the plane will remain stationary or gradually settle and light upon the ground. 1t will thus be seenthat with this device a flight may be started from a small space and a landing made upon a small space. y

lli/*hat is claimed is: Y

1. The combination with an aeroplane having a fuselage and wings, 'of an elevating and propelling attachment comprising a frame kextending upon opposite sides of the fuselage, rings positioned vertically in the frame and rotatably mounted, shafts rotatably mounted in the rings, propellers carried by the shafts, a driving shaft eX- tending longitudinalljy7 of the frame and adapted to receive rotary movement Yfrom the motor carried by the fuselage, means for transmitting rotary movement from the driving shaft to the shafts rotatably mounted in the rings, and means for rotat! the rings to an adjusted position to adjust the angular position of the propeller carrying shafts.

2. e. propelling and elevating attachment for an aeroplane compr'sing afframenor extending transversely of a fuselage upon opposite sides thereof, gyroscopic propelling means carried by the frame in the end portions thereof, each comprising a ring rotatably mounted vertically in the frame,

:a propeller shaft journaled in the ring, a

propeller mounted upon the shaft, a rotatably mounted driving shaft forftransmitting rotary movementto the propeller carrying shafts of the rings, and means for rotating the rings and retaining the same in an adjusted position with the propeller carrying shafts extending at a desired angle.

3. The structure of claim 2 having the Ablades, of one propeller extending atan angle opposite to the angle of the blades carried by the second propeller, the means for transmitting rotary movement-from the driving shaft to the propeller shafts causing one shaft to rotate in an opposite direction to the rotation of the second propeller shaft.

4. The structure of claim -2 having a shaft casing furthe driving shaft provided with izo an inner section positioned about the intermediate portion of the driving shaft and terminating in coupling heads, and outer-sections for the shaft casing having their inner ends rotatably connected with the coupling heads of the intermediate sections and having their outer end portions provided with housings engaging the propeller shafts, and heads for closing` the housing at the outer ends of the shaft casing forming bearings for the outer ends of the outer casing sections and permitting the outer casing sections to rotate when the rings are rotated in the frame.

5. il propelling means for an aeroplane having ka fuselage and wings, said propelling means comprising a frame for extending transversely of and beyond opposite sides of the fuselage, said frame having longitudinally extending bars and standards and cross bars connecting the longitudinally extending bars, rings positioned vertically in the frame, shoes carried by certain of the cross bars and vertically extending bars and engaging the rings to rotatably mount the rings and hold the rings against transverse movement, a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally of the frame and having gears engaging gear teeth of the rings for imparting rotary movement to the rings, propeller shafts journaled in the rings, a driving shaft rotatably mounted and extending longitudinally of the frame and having gears engaging gears carried Vby the propeller shaft, and propellers carried by the shafts for imparting vertical movement to an aeroplane when the propeller shafts are vertical and for imparting forward movement to the aeroplane when the propeller shafts are horizontal.

6. The combination with an aeroplane including a fuselage and wings, of a frame extending transversely of the fuselage and longitudinally of the wings, gyroscopic propelling means in the frame upon opposite sides of the fuselage including rings positioned vertically and rotatably mounted. propeller shafts journaled in the rings, means for rotating the rings to adjust the position of the shafts, propeller blades carried by the shafts, and means for imparting rotary movement to the propeller shafts with one propeller shaft rotating in an opposite direction to the second.

7. A gyroscopic propelling attachment for an aeroplane comprising a frame for extending longitudinally of the wings and transversely of the fuselage of an aeroplane, rings rotatably mounted in the end portions of the frame and i positioned vertically therein, means for imparting rotary movement to the rings and releasably holding the same in a set position, propeller shafts journaled in the rings, a driving shaft having geared connection with the propeller shafts for transmitting rotary movement to the same in opposite directions, a shaft easing for the driving shaft having its intermediate section and outer sections rotatably connected with the inner section and having connection with the propeller shafts, and propellers carried by the propeller shafts within the rings.

8. The combination with an aeroplane having a fuselage and upper and lower wings, the lower wings being provided with openings upon opposite sides of the fuselage, a frame positioned between the upper and lower wings and extending upon opposite sides of the fuselage, and gyroseopic propelling means in the frame having rings positioned vertically in the frame and rotatably mounted above the openings in the lower wings of the aeroplane, propeller shafts journaled in the rings, propellers carried by the shafts, means for transmitting rotary movement to the propeller shafts from a source of power and means for rotating the rings and releasably holding the same in a set position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM EVERSON.

Witnesses:

Ron'r. W. PORTER, J. WORTH EGELsToN. 

